


In Despair We Found Love

by Zainab_Abbass



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Kinda, Love at First Sight, M/M, Magical Being Keith, klancevday2021, klvalentine, only tiny bit though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:34:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29585919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zainab_Abbass/pseuds/Zainab_Abbass
Summary: A myth is said that the ‘Goddess of Life’ can heal and mend the broken, so Lance and his friends go search for her to help them restore their land that is dying little by little, but what they find is not what they expected.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	In Despair We Found Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TilDeathDoWeLove25](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TilDeathDoWeLove25/gifts).



> My first fic ever.. wow.. I'm proud...  
> Anyways, this was my piece for the Klance V-day Exchange event! It was such an honor to be a part of it, I hope I can participate in more events like these soon!  
> Hope you enjoy!

Orenda is known as the Enchanted land for its beauty and ambiance. Whenever it's spoken about, people get amazed by what it holds, especially by the most magical aspect of this land; the Elemental Spirits. 

These spirits are what connect nature with magic.

Because of this, people lived in harmony and peace, united by their love and kindness towards each other; they only knew how to share and aid others in times of crisis, and how to be grateful for what they have.

But nowadays they’re getting lost. Drought is consuming the land; water is vanishing little by little. The soil is hardening, leading to the loss of the essence from plants. The air around them is solemn. The spirits are slowly dying, resulting in the death of Orenda.

That’s when Lance decided to make a move and prove himself worthy for the tribe. He planned alongside his friends to start a journey searching for the Goddess of Life. The story states that the mythical being can heal and restore nature to what it once was. 

He may sound crazy, but that’s the only option they have to save their land. If they did not strive to do so, they’re going to face grave danger sooner than later.

The day of their trip arrived sooner than they would have preferred, however, they are ready and all set to go. Leaving the fears clouding their thoughts aside, they bid their families farewell and board the ship with a well-made plan in mind... for the most part.

“So, we’re still sticking to the main plan, right?” Questions Hunk, after sailing for almost ten hours straight with no stops in between.

“Yes. That poem is the only clue we have. It’s basically the one thing that talks about life, spirits, and stuff. So yeah, that’s what we’re starting with.” Lance answers, coming to stand beside his friend.

“Okay, and are you really sure that we’re heading North right now?” He rambles out. Hunk is becoming anxious- they’ve been sailing for a long time with no hope in sight, and he can’t help but worry. “We’re literally just following a piece of writing written on a piece of paper.”

“Hunk, buddy, I need you to relax,” Lance asks, bracing both his hands on his friend’s shoulders. “I know this trip may seem scary, but it is the only option we have if we want to save our home.” Lance understands Hunk’s feelings, he’s pretty scared himself, but there is no way that he’s quitting this just because he’s a coward. Even though the poem provides little to no information about their destination, it’s still better than nothing. “And isn't it better that we have something to start with rather than starting out of the blue?”

Despite his solemn expression, Hunk nods in understanding. “Yeah, I guess you are right.” He sighs, looking up at Lance’s face and smiles. “It is better than nothing.”

“See, that’s the spirit!” Lance exclaims, shaking Hunk’s shoulders a little. “How about you go make us some of that magic of yours? Huh?” He requests, letting go of him.

“Okay, okay.” Hunk chuckles wholeheartedly, “I’ll go make us some of that magic of mine,” he mocks jokingly, patting his friend’s back, then stepping around him to head to his working area. Faltering in his steps he looks back, raising two thumbs. “Thanks for the pep-talk, man, I needed that.”

“Of course, anytime,” Lance grins, raising two finger guns in response.

After Hunk leaves, Lance leans against the railing, left alone with his raging thoughts. Maybe Hunk’s right and his worries are in the right place after all. What if they’re not going in the right direction? What if they reach a destination but end up in the wrong place? Or worse, get stranded there. What if there’s actually no goddess, and they’re just wasting time and other important stuff because of some meaningless poem? What if they never make it? What if...?

“Ughhhh, this is stupid! What am I doing?” He exclaims, frustrated with himself, rubbing at his eyes, willing the bad thoughts away. He needs to get a hold of himself if he wants to complete this mission since annoyance and discouragement won’t take them anywhere.

To clear his mind and be useful at something, he rereads the poem trying to understand what it means and how it will aid them in their search. Grabbing the paper from his pocket he begins.

“Life is something much greater than we know

Even if one day it will come to an end

It'll still be going as long as all spirits flow

And as they search for all that's broken to mend

The secrets still rest all the way to the North 

In a place hidden deep only some can find

But with the right piece given they will come forth

To become a being beyond all spirits combined.”

Yeah, it was a bad idea, with that brain of his, he won't understand anything, not even a single word. He needs to relax a little and calm down. How funny... he just cheered up his friend from these exact thoughts, but now he is stuck with them. He should listen to his own advice from now on.

With a final sigh, he pushes himself up from his slumped posture then heads back to the main deck where the others are.

***************************

A few days pass with no land in sight. Lance is desperate; he wants to find the Goddess and go back home already. He’s carrying a huge weight on his shoulders: a promise to everyone that he’ll come back home with a solution. He’s not going back until that weight lifts off.

The good news is that they managed to figure out what’s written in that poem. Lance, Shiro, and Pidge are sitting together with the paper in between them, beaming with happiness. Before they even have a chance to tell Hunk and Matt the news, both of them are calling the others over.

“Guys! Come here!”

“We can see Land!”

Quickly standing up and joining the others at the helm, they realize that they’re right. There's an island not too far away from them. With only a few hours, they’ll be standing on warm sand once again.

“Finally!” Lance shouts in excitement. “We also found out what the poem means!”

“Really?” Asks Matt. “What does it mean then?”

Pidge swiftly steps up to answer. “The spirits that they’re talking about are the Elemental Spirits; fire, water, air, and earth. The first part says that ‘as long as all spirits flow’. This means that if all spirits were alive and working together, then life will never end because they’re mending whatever is broken, to keep the cycle of life going.”

Shiro continues from there. “We first decided to go North since ‘The secrets rest all the way to the North’. Those secrets are related to the spirits and how they stay alive, however, they’re kept with a being that once they’re free, they’d be way more powerful than those exact spirits.”

“But said being- which I believe is the goddess- will only come out if we give a certain piece of something that we still don’t know what is. It’s a good thing that we covered the whole thing. Let’s just hope that we can know that _something_ once we land,” Lance finishes with a sigh tumbling out of his lips.

“That’s okay, we’ll find it, don’t worry. Regardless of that, this is great, we finally found the island and understand what that poem says.” Hunk remarks enthusiastically.

“But we need to watch out for two things.” Matt quips from beside him, counting on his fingers. “One, that island might not be our real destination. Two, we don’t know what’s hiding there.”

All five of them look to the distance, each one of them drowning in their thoughts on what awaits them. They’ll never know unless they get there, but the prospect of approaching something they don’t know eats at them. It leaves them anticipating the worst. 

“That’s okay,” Shiro declares, breaking them from their stupor. “We’ll stay together all the time and work as a team. Let’s not think about the island. For now, you should go rest. Another long journey might be waiting for us once we land.”

***************************

Keith is facing a huge problem right now thanks to Xipha, a group of hunters who had stripped the whole land of its magic. Not only is he trapped somewhere he’s not familiar with, but he’s also losing his powers gradually. It’s not a big deal to him. With the help of nature, he can restore his lost powers. 

The problem lies in Orenda. He can feel the spirits slowly fading along with the surrounding nature. It’s his responsibility to restore those spirits to continue the cycle of life. If he doesn't move quickly, it’ll be too late to save it.

***************************

Upon approaching the island, the crew realizes that there’s something off about it. It’s dark and dull, as if it was robbed from every single grain of life. Everything about it reeks of death.

“Guys, this doesn't seem like our destination,” Hunk supplies hesitantly. 

“I agree,” Pidge speaks up from beside him. “This place looks so _dead_ that I can’t believe there’s a goddess here.” The shiver running up her spine confirms her feelings.

Lance doesn’t think so. There’s something within him telling him to ‘Go. Continue. Don’t stop. It’s where you should be.’ None of this makes sense to him. The only thing he knows is that he’s not backing out. Not now, not ever.

Before he can speak his beliefs, Shiro beats him to it. “We’re at the right place.”

All of them blink owlishly at him, then Matt asks the question that runs in everyone’s mind. “What? What do you mean? How do you know that?” 

“I have a hunch that the goddess is the one who’s controlling the spirits. If the spirits are dying in Orenda, it’s clear that the goddess might be dying as well, therefore, every living thing around her is also dying. And this island is the most devoid of life that I've ever seen. So...” He keeps his explanation open, allowing the others to piece the last thought to it.

Lance stares with wide eyes at the island. He can’t formulate his thoughts right now, they’re going wild, but at the forefront of his mind one statement is pinned there, telling him everything he wants to know. “She’s here.”

***************************

Keith’s been sitting in the cell concentrating on his magic for a long time now. The plan is that once his captors come take him to another ‘magic-sucking-session’, he’s going to trick them into thinking that he’s surrendering, then unleash his power on them and make a run for it. This is not a well-made plan, but it’s his only hope.

Now, it’s just a game of waiting.

Hours later, he hears the keys jingling in the hallway. Preparing himself physically and mentally, he sucks a breath in then releases it alongside the tension in his body. 

The door of his cell opens, revealing the disgusting creature. “I believe this will be your last session,” she snarls at him, going to the far wall, unlocking the chains connecting him to it. 

“I don’t think so. There's still so much more that I’m willing to give to you.” He counters back. Seeing the amusement written on her face gives him the slightest bit of hope that his plan might work. 

“Is that so? You’re finally being nice to us, or are you just getting bored?” She asks, coming to stand in front of him.

“I just know that I’ll never be free unless you get what you want. So if you give me freedom, I’ll give you magic,” he reasons with a small voice and looks up at her giving off an innocent vibe as if he’d do what he promised.

She fixes him with a glare then spits out, “ _If you_ give us magic, _we will_ give you freedom.”

“Promise.”

“Deal.”

After that, she drags him up, and to the all too familiar room. Keith follows without complaint, trying to keep up the act. Once they reach it, she unlocks the chains from his wrists then pushes him into the pod. Before she can even finish the adjustments, one of the guards runs towards her with an alarmed expression on his face, shouting something about a ship advancing towards the island.

Keith finds it his chance to escape. Using his leftover power he pushes out a gust of wind, knocking his captors off their feet, and runs out. If what that guard said was true, then he might be able to escape this place. The moment he was out, he saw the ship approaching the shore. 

Maybe with the help of the wind and sunlight, he can gain enough speed to reach it. Willing what’s left of the nature around him into his body, he finds that he can, but with a feat. Upon reaching the ship, he raises his hands and shouts, “ **Stay aboard and retreat!!** ”

***************************

“ **Stay aboard and retreat!!** ”

Quickly turning their heads to find the source, they see someone waving their hands frantically, sprinting towards them and into the water. Suddenly the ocean propels the ship backwards and lifts the person onto it, landing directly in front of Lance.

“W-we can’t stay he-here we nee- to go- Orenda- they- in dange-” the guy rambles, panting and coughing every other word, then goes limp into Lance's arms.

Excuse him, but Lance _cannot_ peel his eyes away from him. Long dark hair shining with droplets of water resembling the starry sky contrasts against pale and smooth skin covering a lithe yet strong body.

He is in heaven.

The chatter of his friends brings him back to reality. Looking around him, he realizes that they’re no longer near the island and the ship is going back the way they came. “Who’s sailing?” He asks, seeing that the whole crew is here.

“No one.” Hunk and Pidge answer simultaneously.

“Wait, what happened?” They were supposed to find the goddess then head back, but now the only thing they have is an unconscious man.

“We were nearing the shore, but this guy came running and shouting 'retreat', suddenly we’re miles away from the island with him on board,” Shiro explains, gesturing to the man in Lance’s arms.

“And I tried steering the ship back, but it didn’t budge. I don’t know _how_ , but the _water_ is moving us! At this rate, we’ll reach Orenda in a day or less!” Matt continues exasperated. 

“We should wake him up he's the one who has the answers,” Lance says, glancing down at the newcomer. Sitting down and settling him in his lap, he notices his face twitching and eyes peeking open.

***************************

As he slowly regains consciousness, his eyes fixate directly onto the ones above him. Eyes blue as the sky- surrounded by freckles littering bronze, sun-kissed skin- stare down at him. 

“Hey there, you okay?” The man holding him asks, with a voice so sweet that he can't help but answer. “Yeah, very okay.” He sighs, watching the blush color the guy’s cheeks and stammering out, “O-okay, um... We have some questions, can you answer them for us?”

Us? Glancing around him, he finds that, yeah, there are others here. He then remembers jumping onto this ship just before passing out. "Where are we- wait, sorry, I’m Keith, the Spirit of Life. Thanks for your help. I wanted to escape that island, and because of you, I was able to do so." He explains, sitting up carefully.

"Um.. yeah, you’re welcome.” He offers bashfully, then introduces himself and the others, pointing to each one of them. "And to answer your question, we are heading back to Orenda."

"Excuse me," Shiro cuts in, "you said Spirit of Life, right?" After getting a nod, he proceeds, "are you related to the Elemental Spirits?"

"Yes... you can say I'm the one who controls them."

"So, there's no goddess of life?" Hunk asks, surprise written on his face. Seeing Keith's confused expression, he clarifies, "we've always believed that there's a goddess who can do that, sorry if it sounds rude, but that's what we were taught."

"It's fine. Though there is no goddess, only me."

"Guys..." hearing Pidge's concerned voice, all of them look up to see her pointing towards an island not so far away. “We’re home... and it looks bad.”

***************************

It turns out that Keith was controlling the water, subsequently moving the ship. Because of that, they made it to Orenda earlier than anticipated. 

He explained upon docking how nature helps him gain powers so he can aid her in return. That's how he’ll restore their land. “I need you to gather all the citizens,” he had ordered, “with their help we can speed up the healing process.” 

So that’s where they are. All of them standing on the shore, hands linked with the others beside them, while Keith is kneeling with both hands in the sand and Lance’s ones on his shoulders. 

Slowly but surely, the soil softens, plants regain their color back, rain sprinkles down as clouds materialize above, and a calm breeze settles over them. 

Joy planted into everyone's heart, clean air took place in their lungs, and fresh tears sprang to their eyes, prompting them to shout in glee and hug each other.

Lance noticed Keith trembling, halfway through the process. Once it ended, he quickly kneeled and brought Keith into his arms before he could fall over, whispering praises into his ear, bringing him back to awareness. 

Even though they only met an hour ago, Lance already feels a deep connection with Keith, as if they knew each other for a long time. 

He brushes dark bangs from Keith's eyes as they slowly open, “Thanks for everything you’ve done for us," Lance whispers, "this... may sound weird- and I know I’ve never met you before- but I already feel like there's a bond between us."

“ _Thank_ _you_ for always being there. Every night you spoke to the waves or the stars, I heard you as if you were speaking to me. You might not know me well, but I know so much about you,” spoke softly, cupping Lance’s face, “thanks for keeping me company during my lonely nights.”

“Wait, really?” Lance asked, surprised. He always spoke as if someone was listening, and now knowing that there was someone out there, he can’t help but feel shy. “Wow,” he chuckled, “Thanks for listening to me rant.”

Keith sits up, cradles Lance’s face with both hands, and fixes him with a fierce stare. “I’ve listened to you rant my whole life, and I’ll still do. I’m always with you wherever you go, don’t doubt that.”

A sudden feeling washed over Lance upon hearing those words. Placing his hands atop Keiths’, he blinks slowly and leans into the touch. “I can’t be thankful enough for having you here with me,” Lance mumbles, looking into violet eyes staring softly back at him, “I want to spend the rest of my days with you.”

Keith giggles, bumping their foreheads together. “Isn’t that too soon _sharpshooter_?” The horrified look he receives, makes him laugh even harder.

“H-hey! Tha- it’s- stop laughing!” Lance stutters, a blush spreading across his cheeks. But Keith’s laugh is contagious that he couldn’t help but laugh with him, despite his demand.

“Okay... break it out you two, we get it,” Pidge interrupts them, “you love each other.”

“Yeah, I do,” Keith mumbles, wiping his teary eyes, looking fondly at a red and flustered Lance. 

“Lance is officially broken,” Hunk declares, snapping his fingers in front of Lance’s face, “but I’m sure you can fix him.” He chuckles.

Suddenly Lance springs up, grabs Keith’s wrist, and drags him away. Once they’re out of sight, he squeezes him tightly between his arms, tucking his face between Keith’s shoulder and neck. “Me too.”

Keith weaves his arms around Lance’s waist and pulls him closer, breathing in his scent and murmuring into his hair, “It would be an honor to be able to spend my life with you, Lance.”

Lance looks up at him doubtfully and asks, “Are you certain you want to stay with me?”

“I am,” Keith nods, “you aren’t going to leave me and say goodbye, are you?” He questions, tilting his head and raising an eyebrow.

“No... I’m not,” Lance shakes his head, chuckling softly, then rests his chin on Keith’s chest. “What’s the opposite of goodbye?”

Keith gave him a confused smile as he ran his fingers through Lance’s hair. “...Hello?”

“Then...” Lance smiles, stands on his toes, pressing a kiss to Keith’s nose. “Hi, love.”

**Author's Note:**

> The End!  
> It was a bit challenging writing this (trying to stay within word count), but relaxing at the same time. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing!  
> Hopefully this won't be the last of me, I have so many ideas that I'd love to post one day. So until next time stay happy and healthy!
> 
> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated as well as constructive criticism!


End file.
